Task Force Aims To Keep Gangs From Taking Root

Northwest Lake County is often thought of as a bucolic swath of suburbia. But a new organization is attacking a problem more often associated with cities-gangs.

Community Outreach Uniting Residents Against Gang Environment, or COURAGE, is a Northwest Lake County citizens task force that intends to battle a perceived gang presence in Antioch, Grayslake, Lindenhurst and Lake Villa.

Educating area residents about gangs tops the list of 1994 goals, Bergin said. The education plan is twofold: teaching citizens to recognize gang symbols and signs of gang activity, and teaching kids how to "say no to gangs."

Another priority is providing activities for children at area schools.

"What are the kids getting to do now? That was a main issue," Bergin said.

COURAGE hopes to establish a youth network that would arrange activities, fundraisers and speaking engagements for the community's teens and preteens.

Lindenhurst COURAGE member Jeff McKenzie, also a junior high school teacher in Libertyville, agreed with Bergin. As an educator, he said, it worries him that area schools continue to make program cuts.

"By cutting back on extracurricular activities, that leaves the door open for gangs. It really kind of scares me having kids 4 and 6 years old," McKenzie said.